2008 : A Viral Year

Cheers to the ones who threw some of these together. Things will get interesting this year, indeed, on many sides of the pictures. Here’s a glimpse into some of the *viral* culture that, for better or worse, shaped our world last year: “The take-home lesson here is…” = c

BFIS Barcelona

Welp, here’s where I’ll be an Artist-in-Residence in Barcelona in 2009. Watch as Dr. David Penberg introduces this short about the Benjamin Franklin International School: = c

Ex-Bully

Enjoy this film made by a friend of a friend of a friend… = c

Beeker

This was one of the very first songs I ever learned to play on the piano. Beeker does it so much better! = c

iGame

This could spell T-R-O-U-B-L-E for the gaming industry and its plethora of hardware platforms – what if all you needed to play your favorite games was a cable and the device you carry with you all day anyways: Read more here. = c

Lars’ dad

Backcountry When you are in town, wearing some kind of uniform is helpful, policeman, priest, etc. Driving a tank is very impressive, or a car with official lettering on the side. If that isn’t to your taste you could join the revolution, wear an armband, carry a homemade flag tied to a broom handle, or…

Sing

Brian Eno said in an article on NPR that: “A capella singing is all about the immersion of the self into the community. That’s one of the great feelings — to stop being me for a little while, and to become us.” i surely quickly got into his latest work with David Byrne: = c

Paul Draper : The Dancer, not the Winemaker

From Wikipedia: Paul Draper, a nephew of Ruth Draper, was a famous dancer, born in Italy. Draper taught dancing at an Arthur Murray dance school. In 1930 he took tap dancing lessons at Tommy Nip’s Broadway dance school. After only six lessons, he sailed for London, confident that he would find work as a dancer….

Crooked Fingers : Forfeit/Fortune

My pal Bryan and I went to listen to Crooked Fingers at the Turf Club last week. Eric Bachmann and his band were in town to help promote their new album : Forfeit/Fortune I’ve been biased towards his work ever since I first met him while living in Chapel Hill, NC all those years ago…

Fey as Palin

As the PFD checks were delivered to Alaskans [$3300 this year] Saturday Night Live parodied Palin, played by Tina Fey. The resemblance is uncanny : = c

Admit it…

…you want to learn how to yodel like cowboy Wylie here : From Wikipedia : Yodeling (or yodelling, jodeling) is a form of singing that involves singing an extended note which rapidly and repeatedly changes in pitch from the vocal or chest register (or “chest voice”) to the falsetto voice, making a high-low-high-low sound. This…

Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Part II

If you’re not hip to Black Cab Sessions, you are in for a treat! …if you touch me, well i just think i’ll scream cuz it’s been so long, since someone challenged me. and made me think… about the way things are… made me think…about the way they could be. i believe it- why? oh…

YARTGROYTV

Have you ever wondered why they call it television “programming”? Wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that it INFLUENCES people how to behave would it? Wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that it TEACHES people to adopt an identity that isn’t their own would it? Wouldn’t have anything to do with…

Down Under

Until today, I was not perfectly clear on the words to the iconic tune by Men At Work, let alone the subversiveness of them : Traveling in a fried-out combie On a hippie trail, head full of zombie I met a strange lady, she made me nervous She took me in and gave me breakfast…

I Got Mine!

I just haven’t wanted to listen to much of anything besides these fellas lately. From wikipedia : The Black Keys are a blues-rock music duo consisting of Dan Auerbach (vocals and guitar) and Patrick Carney (drums and percussion) from Akron, Ohio. The band’s name was inspired by an artist friend of the band in Akron…

Farewell, Mr. Carlin – Thanks for the Balance

Surely, there are many people who strongly disagreed with his views. More conservative folks especially would rather he hadn’t reached the levels of success he did. He made a career out of stirring the pot and providing balance to the hard right and its overwhelming amount of political correctness and closed-mindedness about the world. Known…

You Think You Really Know Me

The DVD is out for anyone who didn’t see the film in theaters. “In 1977, a 24-year-old musician from Endicott, NY released a wonderful, odd album, combining elements of pop, proto new wave, jazz, avant-garde composition and electronic music, alternately sweet and angst ridden, about the women in his life and his fantasies…” – The…